


Except Because

by wesleysgirl



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 17:44:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4358393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wesleysgirl/pseuds/wesleysgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story was written for the Giles/Xander ficathon. For Spacemistress, who requested no tweed obsessing, an R+ rating, and a happy ending. Many thanks to Sam_Gamgee for the beta.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Except Because

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the Giles/Xander ficathon. For Spacemistress, who requested no tweed obsessing, an R+ rating, and a happy ending. Many thanks to Sam_Gamgee for the beta.

  
  
  
"Get _down_ ," Giles shouted at him, and Xander rolled almost instinctively, missing the swing of an axe by so little that   
he literally heard the whistle of it through the air.  
  
Okay, maybe not literally. But his imagination provided the sound just fine, thank you very much.  
  
Buffy and Willow were on the other side of the clearing -- Willow keeping back, dancing at the edges of the first demon's reach   
and throwing rocks at it when Buffy needed the distraction. The second one had come up from behind and surprised them, and   
Buffy had been having such a hard time with the first one that Giles and Xander had exchanged one glance and lured the second   
one off.  
  
He didn't think they had a chance in hell of actually killing it, what with the whole lack of weapons thing. Although that   
thought gave Xander an idea...  
  
While the demon took another swing at Giles, Xander grabbed a stick up off the ground and moved around behind it.   
He swung the stick so that it smacked across the demon's back, and the thing roared and spun around -- okay, maybe   
a little bit faster than he'd been expecting -- and swung the axe at _him_.  
  
Xander ducked neatly and the blade of the axe embedded itself in the trunk of the tree he'd been standing in front of.  
  
The demon roared again -- if a roar could be said to be frustrated, then that was it -- and struggled to pull the weapon   
free just as Buffy appeared from killing the first one and chopped its head off with a heavy swing of the other one's axe.  
  
Panting, Xander straightened up a little bit and rested his hands on his knees, hunched over as he got his breath   
back. "What is it with the axes all of a sudden?" he asked. "Are they the newest fashion in weapons? Because I'm   
obviously reading the wrong magazines."  
  
Giles cleared his throat as he joined Willow and Buffy in standing over the hulking body of the demon.  
  
"Maybe they just like them," Buffy said, handing the one she was holding to Giles and yanking the other one out of the tree.  
  
"Some preferences can be ingrained," Willow said. "You know... genetic."  
  
Buffy poked the demon with her boot. "You mean maybe the demon's dad liked axes too?"  
  
"There could be something about them that makes an axe a preferred weapon," Giles said. "The shape of their hands, the   
way that their vision works... I'll have to look into it to be sure."  
  
"Well, unless some more of them are going to show up to exact revenge because I took the lives of their family members,   
I don't think it matters," Buffy said. She inspected the fingernails of one hand while casually swinging the axe with the   
other. "I'd better get home -- Mom's been on my case about the whole homework thing again. If I don't catch up, it's   
going to be bye bye freedom for Buffy."  
  
"I could help," Willow offered. "I mean, as long as I have to do mine too, we might as well do it together?"  
  
Xander snickered. "Like you didn't finish yours at lunch," he said.  
  
Willow looked briefly offended, then wilted. "I could still help."  
  
"I could definitely use the help," Buffy said, handing the second axe off to Xander, who took it automatically. "You   
guys can take these back and do whatever... researchy things still need doing, right?"  
  
Quick to answer, Xander nodded. "Sure. I'll walk Giles home. Or, you know, back to the library, or wherever."  
  
The four of them walked to the end of the block together, then murmured a chorus of 'bye's and 'see you later's as   
they headed in two separate directions. It wasn't until the sound of the girls' voices had faded into the distance   
that Giles pulled Xander to a stop with one hand on his shirt.  
  
"You're not hurt?" Giles asked, cupping his face.  
  
Xander shook his head. "Nah. Never laid a... claw. On me." Huh. That didn't work as well as the more traditional 'never   
laid a hand.'  
  
"Good."  
  
They started walking again after a minute. It wasn't unusual for them to keep kind of quiet when they were out   
together -- that had started as an attempt to keep Buffy and Willow from suspecting anything, then stretched   
into not wanting anyone _else_ to suspect anything. And for Xander, at least, it wasn't because he was   
worried about other people's reaction, even if he could guess what they'd be.  
  
It was because he liked having this for himself. He wasn't ready to share.  
  
He didn't really find out what was going on in Giles' head until they got back to Giles' apartment.  
  
He'd known they were headed there without Giles needing to say anything, even before they'd reached the place   
where they'd needed to turn in one direction or the other. He waited patiently while Giles unlocked the door and   
went in, turning on another light to join the one glowing softly in the corner, before following him and closing the   
door behind them.  
  
Xander set the axe down on the floor and leaned the handle up against the wall. "You okay?" he asked after a   
minute, when Giles kept standing where he was without turning around.  
  
"You could have been killed." Giles' voice was low and strained.  
  
Uh-oh. It had been a while since Giles had been genuinely pissed off at him, but it sounded like that was the case   
now. "Isn't that what living in Sunnydale's all about?" Xander asked, trying to keep things lighthearted. "We get   
attacked by demons, we escape by the skin of our teeth?"  
  
Giles turned around and looked at him. "If you hadn't had the good instincts to duck when I told you to, you'd be   
dead right now," he said quietly.  
  
"But I did. Good instincts is my middle name. Names. You know." Xander shrugged. This kind of intensity made   
him uncomfortable, and the other thing his good instincts were telling him was to diffuse the situation as fast   
as he could. "I'm fine."  
  
"You should be bloody well glad you are." Giles just about growled the words, moving over and grabbing onto   
both of Xander's hips, pulling him in against him. "If anything were to happen to you..."  
  
"I know," Xander said. "But it won't."  
  
"On the Hellmouth?" Giles laughed briefly, but it sounded more painful than anything else. He leaned in and kissed   
Xander, his mouth hard, searching. "Things happen all the time here. You know that."  
  
But Xander didn't want to think about Jesse, not tonight. "Less talking, more touching," he demanded, sliding his   
arms around Giles' waist.  
  
Giles laughed again, only it was better this time. More real. "You're insatiable," he said, with his lips about a quarter   
of an inch from Xander's.  
  
"If that means what I think it means, then yeah," Xander said. "And you know you love it."  
  
"I do," Giles said, like it meant more than that. "I do love it. And you."  
  
It wasn't the first time Giles had said it, but it was still new enough that Xander went a little bit weak in the knees   
every time he heard it. He made a small sound in the back of his throat as Giles' lips met his again and surged forward   
to meet him, anxious and eager and all kinds of things rolled into one.  
  
He whimpered when Giles' hand rubbed up against the front of his jeans, rough and perfect, and again when he felt   
the zipper go down. It was always like this -- Giles started touching him and he was instantly hard.  
  
Big warm fingers wrapped around his erection. Giles' other hand was at the back of his head, holding him steady.  
  
Sometimes the kissing was like this -- hungry and fierce -- and other times it was slower and more gentle. Xander   
liked it both ways, but right then he needed more. More... something, anything, than Giles' mouth on his and Giles'   
slightly calloused hand stroking him roughly.  
  
"Please," he managed to say. "Giles, come on..."  
  
"Not like this," Giles said. Xander wasn't sure if he was agreeing with him, or what. "I want you upstairs."  
  
Upstairs meant the bed, and the bed was good. The bed was a place to lie down when your legs were feeling like   
maybe they didn't want to hold you up too much longer. Xander adjusted the front of his jeans a little bit so that he   
wouldn't hurt himself on the zipper, caught Giles' hand, then started backing toward the stairs.  
  
Giles looked... surprised, and that made Xander grin because most of the time he felt like the ways he surprised   
Giles were bad ways, like dropping a glass on the floor in an explosion of splinters, or almost getting himself   
dead-by-beheading from a demon's axe. It was nice to think that there were good ways.  
  
"You didn't think I was going up there by myself?" he asked, backing up the first two steps and towing Giles with him.  
  
"No," Giles said.  
  
It didn't take long for them to get to the top, and then Xander didn't have enough brain power to keep wondering   
what had surprised Giles, because he was too busy letting Giles take his clothes off, and fumbling with Giles' shirt and pants.  
  
Then they were on the bed, and he didn't have the brain power to do _anything_. It was all about reacting --   
whimpering as Giles' erection skidded damply up the inside of his thigh, and the deeper groans when he pushed   
inside. The way his hands went without thought to Giles' nipples, twisting them as Giles moved faster, deeper, fucking   
him with an intensity that made Xander cry out and arch his own body.  
  
He came, shuddering, not even needing the touch of Giles' hand on his dick to make the orgasm explode out of him.   
He was so into it that he missed Giles' orgasm entirely, not even realizing he'd come too until Giles collapsed on top   
of him, panting.  
  
After a minute, Giles lifted his head from the curve of Xander's shoulder and kissed him. "Try to be more careful in   
the future?" he asked, looking at Xander very seriously.  
  
"I will." It was an easy promise to make, what with the fact that Xander would have done just about anything not   
to jeopardize this. He wanted to be here every night, holding Giles, kissing him and touching him. "It's not like   
_I_ want anything to happen to me."  
  
Giles kissed him gently. "I know. I just... I don't want to lose you."  
  
"You won't," Xander said.  
  
They moved, settling next to each other with Giles spooned behind him and their fingers entwined against Xander's   
stomach, warm and contented.  
  
"Sleep well," he heard Giles murmur.  
  
"Love you." Xander wasn't sure Giles would be able to hear the words, but he was pretty sure it didn't matter.  
  
He could always say them again tomorrow.  
  
  
  
End.


End file.
